In the early twentieth century, eugenic ideologies and practices drew on genetic theories of the day in efforts to control human reproduction. This provided scientific cover for policy decisions about who should and shouldn't reproduce—decisions largely informed by discriminatory attitudes toward marginalized groups. In the United States, a widespread eugenics movement led to the forced sterilization of tens of thousands of people considered "unfit," to stringent immigration restrictions on undesired populations, and to public policies that encouraged "fitter families" to produce more children.

Eugenic ideas and rhetoric pioneered in the United States were taken up by the Nazis, who used them to justify their extermination of Jews, people with disabilities, and other groups. The Nazi genocides led to an almost complete rejection of eugenic ideas immediately after World War II.

In recent years, a small but disturbing number of scientists, scholars, and others have begun calling for "reconsideration." Some urge the development of inheritable genetic modification (changing the genes passed on to children) and the expanded use of selection technologies such as pre-implantation genetic diagnosis. Some support these technologies as a way to "seize control of human evolution." Others see them as an efficient, rapid means to produce "enhanced" children.

There are still some traditional eugenicists who focus on purported racial and group differences in intelligence and behavior. But many transhumanists and other eugenicists seek to differentiate their high-tech visions from earlier programs. They say that they reject the racism and government coercion that characterized various twentieth century eugenicists, and argue that market dynamics and individual choice will drive twenty-first century eugenics.

Trump, Science and Social Justiceby Pete ShanksDecember 8th, 2016President-elect Trump's appointments, so far, are frightening to anyone who cares about science, or social, economic and environmental justice.

Human Gene Editing: A Timeline of CRISPR Cover StoriesWith recent gene editing tools, a number of high-profile media are featuring CRISPR on their covers and front pages. We gather highlights since early 2015, along with opinion polls, TV shows, and editorial board statements.

Should We Rewrite the Human Genome?by Alex Harding, XconomyNovember 28th, 2016Critics worry that a synthetic human genome could be used in unethical ways. Unlike for clinical trials, there is no regulatory body for basic science research.

Review of Blame: A Novelby Abby Lippman, Biopolitical Times guest contributorNovember 28th, 2016Blame is especially important for those unfamiliar with the range of ethical, social, legal, and political issues raised by applications of what is learned in a lab. While a work of fiction, it is definitely not science-fiction

There Is No Leadership Geneby Tracy Staedter, SeekerOctober 25th, 2016As genetic testing becomes mainstream, some consider using it to screen job applicants. Besides being unlawful discrimination, the science is highly unreliable.

The Promise of Indigenous Epigeneticsby Emma Kowal, Discover SocietyOctober 4th, 2016Amid the hype surrounding the biological study of inter-generational trauma, we need to be aware that epigenetics could be used for racist agendas that work against Indigenous health and well-being.

Can CRISPR–Cas9 Boost Intelligence?by Jim Kozubek, Scientific AmericanSeptember 23rd, 2016There are no superior genes, only genes that provide advantages with a tradeoff for other disadvantages. But some argue that there is a duty to manipulate the genetic code of future children.

Are Swedish Designer Babies Coming Soon?by Eric Niiler, SeekerSeptember 23rd, 2016"What are the oversight and controls to prevent this technology from being misused and go to a stage that, for now, the scientific community has agreed is a no-go?"

Peru Fails to Deliver for Indigenous Womenby Shena Cavallo, openDemocracySeptember 12th, 2016Some 300,000 poor rural indigenous people were forcibly sterilized according to state "quotas," but a public prosecutor has decided not to pursue charges of "crimes against humanity."

Eugenics bill passes Houseby Kevin Ellis, Shelby StarJuly 7th, 2016The North Carolina bill will ensure that compensation payments to victims of the state's eugenic sterilization program are not counted as income.

The "Outing" of Sperm Donor 9623by Hasmik Djoulakian, Biopolitical TimesJuly 1st, 2016A lawsuit by families who used the sperm of a "schizophrenic felon" lands at the complicated intersection of fertility clinic negligence, genetic reductionism, disability, and eugenics.

Forgotten Stories of the Eugenic Age #5: Creating Super-Peopleby Natalie Oveyssi, Biopolitical TimesMay 23rd, 2016Advocates of eugenics in the early twentieth century thought that careful mating would produce smarter, stronger, better people. What would these people look like? How would they behave? What kind of society would they form? Could making a better world be so simple?

Identity, disability and the genomeby Felicity Boardman, BioNewsApril 11th, 2016The voices of families living with the genetic diseases to be targeted by germline gene editing must be heard. It is their lives and stories that offer the most valuable insights into what we stand to lose.

The Return of Eugenicsby Fraser Nelson, The Spectator [UK]April 2nd, 2016Emerging prenatal genetic screening technologies are creating a "new" eugenics not so ideologically different from that of the past.

A Life of the Law Conversation on Eugenics[With CGS's Marcy Darnovsky and Osagie K. Obasogie]March 29th, 2016Beginning in 1907, over 60,000 Americans were forcibly sterilized. These were people considered by scientists to be “unfit” — the mentally ill, the disabled, the morally suspect.
How could this happen? How could the law deny tens of thousands of men and women the right to have children?

I Can't Breatheby Anne Fausto-Sterling, Boston ReviewMarch 21st, 2016The belief in racial essentialism means that the medical curriculum pays scant attention to the means by which the social experience of race produces disease.

CRISPR patent belongs to aliensby Sara Reardon, NatureFebruary 29th, 2016Returning with a new season after over a decade, The X Files uses technologies like CRISPR gene editing to tell stories at the intersection of science, politics, and conspiracy theories.

Harvard’s Eugenics Eraby Adam S. Cohen, Harvard MagazineFebruary 19th, 2016Given that Harvard affiliates will play a large role in genetic engineering, it is important to contemplate how wrong so many people tied to the University got it the first time—and to think hard about how, this time, to get it right.

The History of Eugenics in Quebec and at McGill
by Hailey MacKinnon, The McGill TribuneFebruary 16th, 2016McGill University is known for its cutting-edge scientific research. Many may not know, however, that McGill was a communication hub between eugenicists in Britain and Canada.

Taking race out of human geneticsby Michael Yudell, Dorothy Roberts, Rob DeSalle & Sarah Tishkoff, ScienceFebruary 5th, 2016"We believe the use of biological concepts of race in human genetic research—so disputed and so mired in confusion—is problematic at best and harmful at worst. It is time for biologists to find a better way."

A Cautious Approach to Mitochondrial Replacementby Françoise Baylis, Impact EthicsFebruary 3rd, 2016While the motivation with mitochondrial replacement (MRT) is distinct from cloning, the transfer technology is the same. MRT can legitimately be seen as a “quiet way station” in which to refine the techniques essential for other genetic interventions (including cloning).

We Are Not Ready to Edit Human Embryos Yetby J. Craig Venter, TimeFebruary 2nd, 2016Due to our insufficient knowledge, the slippery slope to human enhancement, and the global ban on human experimentation, we need to better understand the software of life before we begin re-writing this code.

Genetic Issues at the London Sperm Bankby George Estreich, Biopolitical Times guest contributorJanuary 22nd, 2016The policy of turning away potential sperm donors with infectious diseases and “genetic issues” signals to people living with dyslexia, autism, ADHD, and other human variation that they are unwanted in the present and the future.

Extreme Genetic Engineering and the Human FutureReclaiming Emerging Biotechnologies
for the Common GoodThe Center for Genetics and Society and Friends of the Earth examine the human applications of synthetic biology. This 50-page report challenges claims that this new set of genetic engineering techniques should be seen as "the future of manufacturing, engineering and medicine."

Gene Editing and Eugenics (Opinions Vary)by Pete Shanks, Biopolitical TimesOctober 29th, 2015A recent commentary on the UK law allowing clinical use of mitochondrial replacement celebrates it as a benign form of eugenics. Is there such a thing?

The CRISPR Germline Debate: Closed to the Public?by Elliot Hosman, Biopolitical TimesOctober 15th, 2015Recent CRISPR media coverage focuses on hype rather than engaging the ethical and social implications of the groundbreaking technology—even as many call for public inclusion in the genome editing debate.

Pinker's Damn: A Naive Rejection of Controls Over Genetic Engineeringby Stuart Newman, Biopolitical Times guest contributorSeptember 4th, 2015Steven Pinker's credulous optimism concerning human germline modification ignores a record of complicity by some scientists, and appropriation of the work of others, in abuses by industry and government.

The Scope of Eugenics: A Workshopby Jonathan Chernoguz, Biopolitical TimesMay 27th, 2015The four-day workshop, organized by the Edmonton-based Living Archives Project on Eugenics in Western Canada, brought together early-career scholars interested in eugenics to discuss historical models and forms of "Newgenics."

Eugenics Lurk in the Shadow of CRISPRby Robert Pollack, ScienceMay 22nd, 2015This opening to germline modification is, simply put, the opening of a return to the agenda of eugenics: the positive selection of “good” versions of the human genome and the weeding out of “bad” versions.

Prenatal Tests: Oversold and Misunderstoodby George Estreich, Biopolitical Times guest contributorDecember 16th, 2014A scathing investigative report on the accuracy of noninvasive prenatal testing is likely to shift the terms of this important conversation.

Breaking from our Eugenic Pastby Jessica Cussins, Biopolitical TimesNovember 13th, 2014As the victims of North Carolina's eugenics program finally receive compensation, we should not celebrate "the new eugenics" as some have argued, but learn carefully from this history.

FIXED: The Science/Fiction of Human Enhancementby Jonathan Chernoguz, Biopolitical TimesNovember 12th, 2014The documentary produced and directed by Regan Brashear is receiving a new round of well-deserved positive attention around the world.

Could Genomics Revive The Eugenics Movement?by Meredith Salisbury, ForbesNovember 8th, 2014There was a time when people in America were sterilized, sometimes unwittingly, by activists aiming to create a healthier, “better” population. As the progress of genomics accelerates, we need to remember the lessons of the past.

‘Haunted Files': The Dark Side of Progressivismby Naomi Schaefer Riley, New York PostNovember 4th, 2014With funding from the Carnegie Institution and the Rockefeller Foundation, New York's Eugenics Records Office had the financial backing of the most important and “forward thinking” folks of the time.

Eugenics: The Academy's Complicityby Nathaniel Adam Tobias Coleman, Times Higher EducationOctober 9th, 2014The University of London will face up to its complicity in constructing unjust racial hierarchy, 110 years to the day that the university legitimised Francis Galton's research on eugenics.

Reproducing Raceby Dov Fox, The Huffington PostOctober 6th, 2014It is troubling for donor services to accentuate race in ways that invite parents to exclude wholesale from their consideration all donors of a particular race.

An End to Sterilization Abuses in California Prisonsby Jessica Cussins, Biopolitical TimesSeptember 26th, 2014The signing of SB 1135 into California law by Gov. Jerry Brown is an important victory in the fight for the remembrance of our state's eugenic history and its ongoing implications.

North Carolina and Genetics: From Sterilization to Research Subjectsby Victoria Massie, Biopolitical Times guest contributorAugust 7th, 2014In the twentieth century, North Carolina was one of dozens of states that targeted certain citizens for eugenic sterilization. Today, in a town outside Charlotte, biotech researchers are asking for urine and blood samples and offering $10 gift cards to WalMart in exchange.

Lord Winston’s Warningby Gulzaar Barn, Practical EthicsAugust 5th, 2014Winston discusses the history and misuse of gene science and eugenics, and points to the potential resurgence of this way of thinking.

California Set to Prohibit Sterilization of Prisonersby Jonathan Chernoguz, Biopolitical TimesJuly 24th, 2014With the unanimous approval of Senate Bill 1135 in Sacramento last month, the victims of recent unauthorized sterilizations in California prisons, and their advocates, seem likely to win this important victory.

Remembering Nikola Tesla, Eugenicistby Michael Cook, BioEdgeJuly 12th, 2014In 1935 Tesla gave an interview to the American magazine Liberty in which he peered 100 years into the future with his enthusiastic endorsement of eugenics.

The Perfect 46: A “Science Factual” Film about our Near Futureby Jessica Cussins, Biopolitical TimesJuly 10th, 2014A new science fiction film called “a sort of prequel to Gattaca” highlights the rise and fall of a genetic startup that analyzes people’s genomes to assess their ability to produce disease-free children.

We're Already Designing Babies[With CGS's Marcy Darnovsky]by Olga Khazan, The AtlanticJuly 3rd, 2014Even today, parents are selecting for the traits they want in their offspring. But how far should the genetic tailoring go?

Wading into Racismby Pete Shanks, Biopolitical TimesJune 6th, 2014A Troublesome Inheritance: Genes, Race and Human History has been out for a month, and the fuss, such as it was, seems to be dying down, but the underlying issues remain significant.

Making Babiesby Alexis C. Madrigal, The AtlanticMay 21st, 2014Some guesses about how the future may change what’s involved in making a person—from the ease of getting pregnant, to the mechanics of procreation, to our very definition of family.

Nicholas Wade: Genes, Race and Anthropologyby Pete Shanks, Biopolitical TimesMay 8th, 2014Is Nicholas Wade shocked and horrified that his new book, A Troublesome Inheritance: Genes, Race and Human History, is getting support from racists? Really, what did he expect?